Exploring Attitudes and Household Culture to Encourage Water Conservation Behavior

Abstract

Water is a valuable natural resource for all living species to sustain a productive ecosystem. The goal of this study was to determine the primary variables of home water use to target those elements in water demand control efforts. We designed three questionnaires relating to attitude, culture, and behavior for this purpose, all of which were reliable and valid to a satisfactory level. Using a survey of 210 university students and employees across the Fukuoka city, Japan, we found that attitude and culture play an important role in determining water conservation behavior. Households who reported a stronger culture and positive attitude of water conservation used less water. We also discovered that among various age groups and gender categories, there was a substantial difference in favorable attitude, culture, and behavior about water conservation. Person’s attitude, culture, and gender account for 29% of overall variation in water conservation. Thus, good water-saving attitude and culture are linked to water conservation behavior, underline the importance of policies that encourage long-term social changes in how people consider about the water use.